


O Holy Night

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s03e09 Bartlet for America, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-01-01
Updated: 2002-01-01
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14799986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Conversations





	O Holy Night

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

O Holy Night  
By: Jenna

Category: Josh/Leo friendship. Josh/Donna  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Bartlet for America Post-ep -- conversations

O Holy Night

A thrill of hope  
The weary world rejoices  
For yonder breaks  
A new and glorious morn  
Fall on your knees  
O hear the angels voices  
O night divine

  


* * * Monday night, December 23, 2001 * * *

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman looked into the darkened office of his boss and mentor Leo McGarry and saw him sitting quietly at his desk. Leo's head was down, and he was caressing a small picture frame.

"Leo..."

"Josh!" Leo looked up startled and quickly wiped any trace of tears from his face. He smiled wryly at his deputy and cleared his throat, "Dodged a bullet, there."

"Yeah," he softly replied approaching the older man's desk. "I'm sorry--"

"Forget it, Josh. It was my turn to take the hit. It's not like I didn't expect it to happen. Hell, I was ready to get it over with. Now I have to wait 'til after the Holidays."

"Maybe it won't come up. If Jim Jericho's wife hadn't gotten sick I could have gotten Gibson outta the room. Next time--"

"Forget it Josh. I'm an alcoholic. I fell off the wagon. I gotta live with that," he shrugged. "It could happen again. Any day could be the day I--"

"No," Josh knelt next to Leo's chair, placing a hand on Leo's arm as it rested on the arm of the chair. "You're Leo McGarry. You're the reason we're all here."

Leo looked into his deputy's concerned eyes. He removed his right arm from under Josh's left hand and tentatively placed it around his deputy's shoulder in a rare gesture of affection.

"You remember that summer you interned for Senator MacMartin?

"Yeah." Josh replied thinking back to the summer when he was 17 years old and had lived with the McGarry's while getting his first real taste of politics. Leo had been the Illinois senator's Chief of Staff and a tough taskmaster for the wide-eyed teenager.

"I was drinking pretty heavily back then. Jenny tried to shield you and Mal from that. You might not have known--"

"I knew. Mallory too." He quirked his mouth at the memories, "Usually I'd be like 'quit bugging me' -- typical 17 year-old to a 7 year-old. But when she'd ask me why her daddy was acting 'funny', I..." he looked up meeting his surrogate father's eyes, "well... that's when I'd offer to take her ice-skating. I'd laugh it off and tell her you were fine."

"Did she buy it?"

He shook his head, "Nah... She just wanted to learn how to skate," he smiled.

"Smart kid."

"I modeled myself after you, you know."

Leo shook his head at the thought of himself as a role model, although he knew that Josh had done so. He rubbed Josh's shoulder, "Fortunately you had Noah to take after. He was a good father. Much better than I would have been... if I'd-- you know..." he sighed, "I come from a long line of alcoholics, Josh."

Josh bent his head so that it rested on his hand still holding the arm of Leo's chair. Leo responded by tightening his arm around his surrogate son.

"I thank God that you don't have my genes. That you survived Rosslyn without getting hooked on pain pills... that you drink like a girl," he softened the insult with a grin as Josh looked up and pulled back.

Josh cocked his head to the side, "Donna says I have a 'sensitive system'."

"I thank God for her too."

"Donna?"

"I know I don't have to worry about you getting into too much trouble as long as she's around -- setting fire to the White House notwithstanding," he scowled at his deputy who looked sheepish.

"That was Sam," Josh replied the mischievous dimples peaking out.

"Josh..." Leo warned.

"Well, it was his idea," Josh replied irrepressibly.

"Am I going to have to separate you two?" Leo mock-scolded in his best fatherly tone.

Josh's expression turned serious again, "Sam's disillusioned."

"Yeah," Leo agreed removing his hand from Josh's shoulder and clasping his hands together on his lap. "You wanna talk about it?"

Josh shook his head then stood up and walked around the desk to the guest chair, leaning on it's back.

"You want me to talk to him?" Leo continued.

"I... I don't know. Maybe after the holidays..."

"What do Toby and CJ think?"

"They're worried."

"They think he'll jump ship?"

"Not jump so much as abandon."

Leo grimaced at the allusion. "And you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You want to abandon ship?"

"Nah. As long as you've got a job, I'm set," Josh smiled. "I figured I'd just make sure you always had a job..."

Leo looked down at the framed 'Bartlet for America' napkin in his lap, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"You always were a smart kid, too. That Calley kid... the Majority Counsel. What do we know about him?"

"Why?"

Leo shrugged, "Just something about the way he looked at me, like he was wanting my approval for something he'd done. I thought he might be an old boyfriend of Mallory's."

"No... Donna's."

"You're kidding! When was that?"

Josh looked away uncomfortably and began pacing. Leo raised his eyebrows at his deputy's reaction.

"Calley used to work for Ways and Means. He's a college friend of Ainsley Hayes. She set them up a couple of months ago."

"So they dated some?"

"Just a couple of times. Only..."

"Only what?"

"Leo, I don't think we should be discussing this..."

"Josh..." Leo growled warningly. If it was significant enough to discomfort his deputy, it must be more than just him feeling awkward at discussing his assistant's private life.

"The second date was after Cliff had been transferred to Oversight. They both knew of the conflict of interest but they decided to make it a night to remember," Josh spilled the story while pacing back and forth in front of Leo's desk. Leo winced but did not speak. "To top it off, he saw that she kept a diary."

"A diary... That explains the read-back of the question. I'd wondered about that..."

"You saw that in the transcript? Did Oliver ask about it?"

"He wondered, but since nothing came of it..."

"That's 'cause Donna and I met Calley that night. I gave him an hour to read it over and decide whether it was relevant. All the while I held the entries that showed he knowingly questioned a witness that he'd--" Josh stopped unable to say the words in front of Leo. He stopped pacing and returned to leaning on the back of the guest chair.

"So not only has Calley failed to recuse himself from questioning a witness he'd been romantically involved with --all the while knowing there was a conflict of interest even *talking* to her -- but he has also been covertly meeting witnesses yet to be questioned," he waved a hand towards Josh. "He's been secretly reviewing documents subject to subpoena, and --I take it-- making deals with the White House to suppress that information!" His voice rose as he listed the ethical and legal transgressions committed by the Majority Counsel. "No wonder he didn't want this fight to turn dirty!"

Josh shrugged, "Maybe he really isn't that bad. He's young. Maybe he got in too deep. I'm a party to the deal-making too."

Leo waved that off, "You'd be expected to try and make a deal. You'd get a slap on the wrist and have to apologize. Calley could lose his license and any hope he has of continuing in politics if this gets out." Leo paused and gave Josh a feral grin. "We own his ass."

Josh cocked his head to the side, thinking of the implications and benefits of the young Majority Counsel having more to lose than he had to gain through these hearings. Calley would still want to do a sufficiently good job to get recognition, but he might not push so hard or dig so deep as to cause serious consternation for the White House. Josh straightened up and steepled his fingertips as he thought of how they might just be able to help Cliff look sufficiently good so that he could retain the Majority Counsel position of which he was clearly unworthy. Josh grinned back at Leo. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

* * *

"What are you grinning about," Donna asked as Josh returned to his office.

"Nothing." Josh replied. "Just that Leo got a reprieve."

"Gibson had something?"

Josh nodded. "It may still come out when they reconvene, but not if I can help it."

"Good for you, Josh."

"Even if I have to twist your boyfriend's arm?" he teased, knowing how she disliked any reminder of Clifford Calley: smarm-meister extraordinaire, as she referred to him.

"Twist away. Videotape it so I can watch, would you."

"He might not be that bad... he might have helped Leo out today. Gibson was all set to embarrass Leo before that final break. He may have influenced Congressman Bruno calling for the recess."

"He must have had an angle..."

"That's what Leo says. I told him about the diary... He thinks Calley has more to lose if this turns nasty than he has to gain."

"That makes sense. Is... is Leo upset with us?"

"Nah. He's feeling paternal tonight, but not that paternal. I wasn't grounded."

"So you can still go out?"

"Go out?"

"Well, if you're not grounded," she emphasized, "then you must want to go out... celebrate the holidays or something... Maybe you should call that Amy Gardner person."

"You think I should call Amy Gardner?"

"Well, she's cute..."

"She threw a water balloon at me! From a second story window. At my back! I got all wet. Why would I want to give her another shot at me?"

"She's cute." Donna repeated nervously.

"You wouldn't throw a water balloon at me," Josh asserted looking for confirmation.

She shook her head, "Not at your back from a second story window. And not in December."

"Do you wanna-- I mean, just go out together to eat. Not like a date. That's not really--"

"No, that's not--" she shook her head agreeing that a 'date' wouldn't really be appropriate, "but just, you know, two people who work together eating together. We do that all the time. In fact, we'd do that tonight, only--"

"Only CJ's in California and Toby's in New York with his sister's family. And Sam--" he hesitated --damn-- Sam was probably still here.

"Sam left already."

Josh smiled, showing his dimples, "He did! I mean... that's too bad. We could call him, I suppose..." he added tentatively.

"He looked really tired when he left. I doubt he'd be interested in, you know, getting dressed..."

"Yeah. He should rest... So I guess it's just the two of us..."

"Yeah. I guess so..." she replied grabbing their coats of the Bullpen coat rack.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?" Josh asked holding her coat for her. "Just... out of idle curiosity, mind you."

"I haven't decided..." she replied adjusting the red scarf around his collar

* * *

The end


End file.
